There is a shortage of experienced people in these occupations in Ireland at the moment. For further information on Labour Market trends, go to our Labour Market section.
CareersPortal contains a range of resources designed to assist you to make sound, informed decisions about your career. From this site you can complete self-assessment exercises, create a career plan, develop a job search strategy, research employers, explore occupations, keep up to date with our labour market trends, discover training opportunities and watch and read career interviews of people from all walks of life in Ireland.
What's your Career?
We understand a career as a journey, not a destination. You are already on this journey, and have made decisions that have lead you to where you now are.
At various times along our career journey we reach a crossroad. We must choose (or have the opportunity to choose) which direction to move. These times can be exciting, challenging, stressful or frightning depending on circumstances and our readiness to face change.
There are many factors to consider when the time for a change arrives.
Negative Internal factors - such as job dissatisfaction, job apathy or health issues all require you to take stock of who you are and what you want from your life.
Positive Internal factors - such as a passion to follow your dreams, ambition or simply the urge to do what you love to do, requires you to seek out ways to create the realities you desire in the world of work, and overcome whatever leglislative and practical challenges you might be faced with.
Negative External factors - such as job loss, redundancy or change of location requires you to establish a workable financial budget to sustain you until the next opportunity arises, and the skills of planning and managing a job search so that you get that opportunity as soon as possible.
Positive External factors - such as when a new position becomes available, or a promotion, or an attractive redundancy package, requires you to evaluate such opportunities in the context of your short and long term life goals, your values and your life/work balance.
Personal Career Choices
The choices you make are personal, based on your particular circumstances and the opportunities that you are aware of. Each person has a unique journey, and we present here the stories of many people in Ireland who have taken the time to share the decisions they have taken along their career journey. In these stories you will recognise circumstances similar to yours and we hope they will provide an insight into both the occupations they work at and the personal decisions and milestones that marked their journey.
While in school I loved science based subjects and mathematics. As time passed in secondary school, I also developed an interest in teaching and hence to combine both I headed off to university to do a science degree with a view to doing the higher diploma in education afterwards and begin my teaching career.
Having taught Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics for a couple of years, I became quite interested in helping our school Guidance Counsellor in her various roles. Helping students to research the many career options available to them and spending time discussing the fruits of their research was something I found very interesting and quite rewarding.
I decided to go back to university and complete the Higher Diploma in School Guidance and Counselling, which would allow me to move full time into the role of school Guidance Counsellor.
I still find the role very stimulating and rewarding after some twelve years of practice. The work is varied and no two days are the same, different challenges presenting themselves all the time.
Who said this? Find out here:
Be Focused
Focus forces you to concentrate. Concentration keeps you from getting lost in distractions. Result: the quickest route to achievement.
How to use this Site
The resources in this site are divided into sections. Use the links in the upper left for information and resources aimed at people at particular phases of their career journey. The remainder of the resources can be found within the three main sections of the site - Career Planning, Work & Employment and Education & Training.
